Cell phone ap leads to arrest of Jersey City man, 18, for carjacking

At the time 18-year-old Omar Richardson snapped a photo of himself using a cellphone that cops say he stole in a Jersey City carjacking, he probably didn’t think much of it.

But the cellphone was running a program that automatically forwards photos to the owner’s computer, police revealed last week.

When his mug popped up on the victim’s computer, she printed out the photo, brought it to the South District Police Station and one of the officers recognized the man as Richardson, Police Lt. Edgar Martinez said.

Last Sunday, the 20-year-old victim had gotten out of her car on Armstrong Avenue and a masked gunman approached her saying, “Give me your keys and phone,” according to a police report.

The carjacker drove away heading east on Armstrong. The victim told investigators she could not identify the man because he was wearing a ski mask.

Police told her to keep her phone service on so they could watch for activity. But instead, she got a photo of Richardson sent straight to her, Martinez said.

In the picture, the man identified as Richardson is seated flipping his middle finger, police said.

A warrant was issued for Richardson’s arrest on the charges of carjacking, armed robbery and weapons offenses, Martinez said.

Police then learned he was due to appear in court in Jersey City on Tuesday on a drug charge, reports said. Warrant squad officers made the arrest when he showed up at Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City, Martinez said.

Richardson was being held at the Hudson County jail in Kearny in lieu of $100,000 bail, a jail official said.